Beijing

mao's final resting place


the forbidden city

Our trip to Beijing was fast and furious but really nice. We took a plush soft sleeper overnight train up to Beijing on a Friday evening and arrived early on Saturday. We checked into our room in at Leo Hostel, which I have heard about from quite a few travelers as being a great place to stay and meet people. Great location too- a 5 minute walk from Tiannamen Square. My mom had heard about my travels through guesthouses and hostels all summer and wanted to see what it was like, so we stayed there. I had also heard that they ran the best trip to the Great Wall, which was one of the main events of the weekend.

We met up with Laura, a friend of mine from college, who is taking a year off from med school and working at a hospital in Beijing. We walked around and got a mini tour before Laura had to go to work and we hit up the Forbidden City and Jinshan Park, which included a great hill in the center of the city that you could walk up and see the whole area. It was a really gorgeous day. Apparently they had made it rain earlier in the week so the sky was beautiful and blue for the African Summit that had been going on there which is kind of insane, but it made for a gorgeous day. it's actually a really pretty city, that looks very European in some ways with the long promenades of shops and buildings and large public squares. It was great weather and really pretty. BUT SO WINDY!!!! We met up with Laura and her roommate and some family friends for a great dinner of Peking duck and other Chinese yummies. It was really nice. We went to a few bars after for some drinks before heading back to the hostel.

Sunday we woke up early and went on our "secret wall trip" with a bunch of people from the hostel. A varied group... Americans, Irish, Aussies, Italians and Canadians in two vans, ranging from 18 to mid-50's. The main places where people go to see the Wall are really touristy and include cable cars, slides, vendors and a zillion people climbing up stairs to the wall. We didn't want that kind of experience so this small trip was well worth the $20 for lunch, transportation and a hike. Our vans dropped us off about 2 hours outside of Beijing at this random place along the wall. We hiked up a mountain (hill really) and then walked for about 10k along the wall. It was damn cold and windy but very cool.




We met some really fun people and had a nice lunch in a little village before heading back into the city. We were cold and wind-burnt and exhausted and took it easy for a bit before heading out to take a walk in town and have dinner... at a SIZZLER! I haven't eaten at a Sizzler since they gave free kids meals when you got a perfect report card in elementary school, but it was so freaking good and they had nacho chips on the salad bar!

Monday we woke up early to get a glimpse of Chairman Mao, who is entombed in Tiannamen Square. It was so Chinese. Tons of people standing in a really smooshed queue waiting to be first in line, and once the gates opened, people bum rushed the entrance and were pushing each other out of the way. It was fast and easy because we had arrived early, so we with the use of our elbows and some big shoulders, we were the first people in to see Mao. It was a bit freaky as his face glowed orange-ish from the light on it, but there he was. It is said that it is a wax figurine, but apparently they lower the casket down into a space with more refrigeration each night, so he could be well preserved. We then walked around the square for the first time, because it had been closed for the summit. We also went to the Temple of Heaven, which was really beautiful. A yummy hot pot for lunch before we met up with Laura at HongQiao Market, which is a solid 5 floors of knockoffs and pearls and bags and electronics. Bought some goodies before heading to the train station to catch a train down to Jiangsu.


buying crap with Laura at HongQiao


Leo Hostel


Temple of Heaven